Reinstating the Draft?

Question

I would like to hear your thoughts and/or opinions on the proposition of re-instating the draft for the armed forces. Answers and reasons from those for and against are welcome, I am interested to see the response...

Answer 1

Conscription is slavery, period. If you don't go and are drafted, you face legal imprisonment (removal of your freedom). If you do go to war, you are the slave to the United States military. By joining the military, you surrender your right to think freely and express that. There is definitely a pecking order/hierarchy (chain of command) and if you step out of line, you face court martials or punishments. My life is my own. I don't want to live under some Communist/Socialist philosophical doctrine that tries to sell me on the fact that my life isn't my own and is the property of the government. I'm not a slave to anyone, especially not to a group of politicians who would vote my life away in committe with such a resolution.

If the war in question is moral, that morality should be readily apparent and obvious to people. That alone should compel people into volunteering or staying out of the war . If the war is legitimate, no draft should be necessary (and in fact...drafts are notoriously inefficient).

If not enough people volunteer and that is to the detriment of the country (if there actually is a threat) then the country gets what it deserves by not paying the price of intellectual and moral vigilence. Drafting in that situation would only put a band-aid on a much larger problem...and would cause several more problems.
If our country faced a legitimate and immediate threat, I would definitely volunteer. I refuse to be forced by anyone because I am an adult and I am FREE. I certainly don't think the government is some sort of divine entity that is above making mistakes in the foreign policy arena when deciding where to use military might.
I value my life too much to be a damn slave pissing my life away in the jungles or deserts of some stupid third world country that is in NO way a threat to any American's freedom or well being. Historically we have sent out soldiers off to die for absolutely nothing based on mistaken ideas about what constituted a legit threat or through some goofy altruistic idea about liberating oppressed peoples (as if it is our job to fix everyone else's problems at great costs to our personal well being).
Some great examples would be World War 1, Vietnam, Iraq, Somalia, and the wars in the Balkans.
I don't trust the government to act in MY best interest. I only trust ME to act in my best interest because the government has a bad track record of looking out for the best interest of the country or the lives of our men and women in uniform.

Here are some words that true patriots might remember:

Don't tread on me!

Answer 2

The biggest problem with the draft would be that the enlistment standards are so much higher now than in the 1960's.

You can't be:

overweight (40% of America)
on psych-meds past or present (Prozac, Ritalin, anti-depressants)
have past surgeries (anything invasive, no pins, plates or screws)
had seen a counselor for anything related to depression
have had asthma
committed most crimes
have bad credit (surprise surprise)
be unable to pass the ASVAB (more than a third of HS graduates fail nationally)

Believe me, I used to recruit for the Army. Only about 40% of highschool graduates could even get in the military. So if you have a draft, most Americans would not qualify anyway.... Plus, its too easy to disqualify yourself under the current standards... "um yeah doc, I took Ritalin for a few years."


Most people think the Army will take anyone right now, think again. Size yourself up to the list I put down and then consider you 5 closest friends. Then think about the next ten 18-30 year olds you see at the mall or a grocery store.

Answer 3

I think it is time people step up to the plate and do their time. I would rather see a minimum of 2 years active duty be served, like in other countries, rather than re-instate the draft. By making every mentally and physically abled American do a minimum of 2 years, mandatory time in service, there is a chance that service members will be better respected. Since that will probably never happen, I would like to see troops who have done 3+ tours get a break.

And for those that accuse the Republicans of wanting to reinstate the draft, check out what Senator (D) Rangel wants. He tried to get the draft reinstated in 2003 and now again this year.

Answer 4

It would be a bad idea. Just ask the commanders. A draft based military is far less efficient that an all volunteer service. Contending with malcontents that would be forced into service would be a bigger handicap than the advantage of increased numbers a draft would provide.

Edit-

Hey Larry-

If we relied on only the Liberals to defend America the military would be about 7% of its current size. That is the total number of Liberals in the military. Maybe you should fact check before you claim that conservatives are not pulling their weight. If anything it is the other way around.

Answer 5

there are plenty of volunteers ,
if you do your research the only gov. officials that want the draft are also against the war effort and think people will become less patriotic, like the tofu farting hippies in the past.

Evan: I used to be like you until I found out that my professors were haters of capitalism and I was their sheep.
they had me fooled and my IQ is 164.

I respect your op pinion and would go to war to defend it evan though we don't agree. that's the American way.

Freedom isn't free, it was formed on the backs of brave patriotic volunteers.

Ben Franklin once said, if you don't know your history, your bound to repeat it.. study your history and your views will change.
Saddam made Hitler look like a rookie. 75% of Americans were against war with Germany too. thank god are president didn't become a pole jockey. neither will this one.
when mob rules, chaos happens and we regret it latter.

Answer 6

To be honest, I wouldnt mind going out and fighting for my country. I am 16. I have no intention of going into the military but i support everything our country stands for and I wouldnt be angry at all if the draft got reinstated.

Answer 7

it doesn't matter to me, my husband is in the Army so he has to be deployed no matter what. I'd like to think it won't happen though cause I'd hate to see other's that aren't signed up for it go through to heartaches the soldiers families have to go through. We've been through 2 deployments to Iraq and he's supposed to go back in November. I don't think it would be smart to draft people because they would have no clue what they were doing.

Answer 8

I think it is a terrible idea.

1) We shouldn't even be at war

2) War is terrible, cruel, and an event no one should have to suffer through

3) Women and men? Just men? Either way it's a problem. Unfair vs. sexist

4) People already volunteer

5) Not many really support the war right now, so there would be some uprising

6) Really, isn't the US more advanced than that?

Answer 9

We do need more soldiers but the draft is not the way. The answer is to pay the soldiers enough money that we would have many more soldiers that we need

Answer 10

that would certianly get more people involved and make little Iraq like adventures less appealing to the masses. and even Corp. America might walk a little softer in support of these adventures.